Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 27, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUniCredit has officially withdrawn its January appeal to the EU General Court challenging the ECB’s demand to cut its Russian operations. Concurrently, it continues its legal fight in Russia over a guarantee dispute with a local energy firm.
By Valentina Za
MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit in January withdrew an appeal lodged with the European Union General Court against a European Central Bank request that it exit Russia, a document published on Friday showed.
The ECB formally warned UniCredit about Russia-related risks in April 2023, following up a year later with demands it cuts its activities in the sanctions-hit country. UniCredit sought a suspension of the ECB's order which the EU court rejected in November 2024.
Since then, UniCredit has been shrinking its Russia presence, facing pressure also from Italy's government.
UniCredit ran a top-15 Russian bank when Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. CEO Andrea Orcel has refused to exit the country at a loss.
In its 2025 financial report, UniCredit said that continued interaction with the ECB had led the bank to reduce its Russian operations so as to meet the supervisor's demands.
"As a consequence, on January 30 UniCredit filed a notice with the European Union General Court withdrawing its appeal," it said.
UniCredit last year halved the loans extended by its Russian unit to 600 million euros, but net profit rose to 814 million euros from 577 million in 2024.
ONGOING LAWSUIT
UniCredit also said in the report that it filed in January its latest appeal in a long-running lawsuit involving its Russian unit.
In 2023 a Russian energy firm sued UniCredit's local unit in a St. Petersburg court over guarantee claims totalling 444 million euros ($525 million).
After issuing part of a guarantee package in favour of the Russian company on behalf of a German client, UniCredit failed to meet the Russian firm's payment claims due to sanctions.
The Italian group's Russian unit AO UniCredit Bank lost in court against the energy firm in June 2024. Further appeals by both the group and AO Bank were rejected in February and August 2025, the latest document showed.
UniCredit and its Russia unit lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court that was rejected in January this year. It immediately filed a complaint with the Supreme Court's section in charge of economic disputes, it said.
($1 = 0.8458 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
UniCredit withdrew its appeal after continued engagement with the ECB and reducing its Russian operations to comply with regulatory demands.
The ECB requested UniCredit to cut its activities in Russia due to the associated risks following the Ukraine invasion and international sanctions.
UniCredit has halved loans extended by its Russian unit and gradually reduced its Russian operations under regulatory and governmental pressure.
The ongoing lawsuit concerns guarantee claims from a Russian energy firm, with UniCredit losing previous appeals and continuing to contest decisions in Russian courts.
Despite halved loans to its Russian unit, UniCredit's net profit in Russia rose to 814 million euros in the latest reported period.
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